Plate depositor



Oct. 18, 1955 D. w. SMITH PLATE DEPOSITOR 3 Sheets-Sheet l ENTO NNIS W.SMITH I $.4 1

Original Filed May 25, 1949 Oct. 18, 1955 D. w. SMITH PLATE DEPOSITOR 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed May 1949 FIG.3

INVENTOR. I DENNIS w. SMITH BY g g 2 f ATT'YS Oct. 18, 1955 D. w. SMITHPLATE DEPOSITOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed May 25, 1949 INVENTOR.DENNIS W. SMITH BY M ATTYS United States Patent PLATE DEPOSIT 0R DennisW. Smith, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Colborne Manufacturing Company,Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Claims. (Cl. 221222) Thisinvention relates to continuous pie making machines and particularly todevices for such machines which automatically supply and deposit emptypie plates onto the traveling plate holders which carry the platesthrough the several operations of the machine incident to the continuousproduction of pics; and this application is a division of my copendingapplication Serial No. 95,347 filed May 25, 1949, for Pie PlateDepositor, and now Patent No. 2,595,013.

The main objects of this invention are to provide an improved device,for association with a continuous pie making machine, to automaticallysupply empty pie plates to the plate holder or plate carriers of themachine; to provide such a device that will be accurate and continuousin its operation; to provide such a device that will automaticallyremove a pie plate from a stacked supply of plates and deposit the plateevenly on a continuously moving carrier; and to provide such a devicethat can be readily attached to the loading end of existing pie machinesof the traveling plate holder type, and easily synchronized therewith.

Other principal objects of this invention are to provide an improvedstripper or release device for removing pie plates, one at a time, fromthe bottom of a stack of such plates; to provide such a device that willhandle pie plates having uneven rims and rims of varying thickness; toprovide such a device that can be accurately timed to strip plates froma plate stack at a constant predetermined rate; to provide an improvedplate depositing mechanism that may be adapted to handle pie plates ofany size; to provide an improved pie plate depositing mechanism thatwill release pie plates, from the bottom of a stack of nested plates,and drop them evenly onto a moving conveyor means; and to provide such amechanism comprising a plurality of strippers that will coact to sup-'port a stack of plates and release said plates individually, Withouttipping or tilting, onto a moving conveyor or belt.

A specific embodiment of this invention is shown in the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of an improved pie plate depositor, showingthe device attached to the loading end of a pie making machine.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the same showing the plate depositing mechanismin elevation.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view, in elevation, as taken on line 3-3 of Fig.1, to show one arrangement of the plate stripping or releasing means.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of the delivery end of a platedepositor, showing the arrangement for supplying large size pie platesto a single-plate plate holder.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary elevational view of the same as taken on line5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a side view, in perspective, of one form of plate stripper orreleasing device, showing the manner in which a pie plate is engaged bythe same during the releasing operation.

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the same.

so that the plates will drop flatly 2,721,002 Patented Oct. 18, 1955Fig. 8 is a bottom plan view of the same.

Fig. 9 is a partly sectioned view, in elevation, showing a modified formof the plate stripper.

Fig. 10 is a similar view showing another form of the plate stripper andthe manner in which the stacked plates are supported and strippedindividually for release and Fig. 11 is a sectional view showing anarrangement of the plate delivery guides for handling inverted plates tomake pie crust shells.

In the form shown in the drawings, the improved pie plate depositingmechanism is mounted on a suitable frame, indicated generally by thenumeral 1, adapted to be attached to a pie making machine 2 at itsloading end. The pie making machine 2 is of the usual constructionincluding an endless conveyor comprising a pair of chains 3 travelingover sprockets 4 and adapted to carry a series of pie plate holders 5 inthe usual manner. The pie making machine forms no part of the presentinvention, and therefore only a portion of the loading end isillustrated to show the coaction with the pie plate depositingmechanism.

As shown, the pie plate depositor comprises a horizontally disposedendless belt 6, traveling between horizontally spaced rollers 7 and 8,and a plurality of plate depositors adapted to drop pie plates in apredetermined sequence upon the conveyor belt 6.

The pie plates dropped upon the belt 6 are transported thereby towardthe loading end of the pie making machine 2 where the pie plates aredelivered onto an inclined trackway comprising spaced guide members 9and 10, adapted to engage each pie plate by its peripheral flange, sothat the pie plate can be pushed along the guide members and deliveredin properly timed relation into the moving plate holders of the piemachine 2.

As shown, the conveyor belt 6 is disposed at a higher elevation than theplane of the plate holders 5, as they are propelled along the top of thepie making machine by the chains 3, and the inclined guideway extendsdownwardly and forwardly from the delivery end of the belt 6 to thelevel of the plate holder 5 when it is in horizontal position ready toreceive the pie plate.

As indicated in Fig. 2, the pie plates are pushed along the inclinedguideway, on the guide members 9 and 10, by means of suitably disposedfingers 11 which are carried by a pair of endless chains 12, which inturn travel over horizontally journaled sprockets 13 and 14 disposedabove the pie plate trackway. The fingers 11 project outwardly fromsuitable crossbars extending between the chains 12, so that thosefingers on the lower pass of the chains 12 will project downwardlytherefrom to engage the rim of a pie plate and push it along thetrackway to the delivery end thereof where the pie plate is then droppedinto the pie plate holder 5, which has meanwhile moved into platereceiving position.

The speed of travel of the conveyor belt 6 and the chains 12, whichcarry the pusher fingers 11, are accurately timed relative to the speedof the chains 3 which carry the pie plate holders 5 through the piemaking machine 2. Also the spacing of the pusher fingers 11 along thechains 12 is arranged to move the pie plates in properly spaced relationto each other. Thus, pie plates deposited on the conveyor 6 aredelivered continuously therefrom onto the inclined trackway where theyare immediately engaged individually by the pusher fingers 11 andfinally discharged from the delivery end of the trackway in such timedrelation with the movement of the plate holders that each pie plate willbe accurately deposited into a respective plate holder at the instantthat the holder is in proper position to receive the pie plate.

The plate holder or carrier 5 shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is of the form usedfor the small individual size, 4 inch pie plates and this carrier isarranged to receive four plates at each loading, disposed square to theline of travel. Likewise the trackway is arranged to deliver theseplates in two parallel rows and therefore includes a middle guide bardisposed between the bars 9 and 10 so that the small plates will beadequately supported; The pusher fingers 11 are also mounted oncrossbars 16 in pairs, two fingers being provided for each plate. Also,thefingers of each pair are spaced to engage a pie plate equidistantlyon each side of its center so as to push the plate squarely along theguide bars and then deliver it to the plate holder in exact alignmentwith the plate receiving pockets in the holder. Thus, in the arrangementof Figs. 1 and 2, the plates are delivered to the plate holder in pairsand the pairs of plates are spaced, in the direction of travel, so

that each pair will be discharged fromthe end of the trackway at theexact instant that the respective pair of plate holder pockets is inproper position to receive them.

Since the plate holders are spaced apart a greater distance than the twopairs of plates deposited in each carrier, the pusher fingers 11 foreach group of plates must be accordingly spaced, as will be understood,so that the plates will be delivered from the trackway in timed relationwith the arrival of the successive plate holders at the loadingposition. Also the plates are delivered to the trackway, by the belt 6,at such a rate that they will be engaged by the respective fingers 11 inproper sequence.

This timing of delivery of the plates to the respective plate holders isaccomplished by driving the belt 6 and the pusher finger chain 12 fromthe same source of power that drives the plate holder chain 3, and asshown in Figs. 1 and 2 the power is taken from the main drive shaft 17,of the pie machine 2, through bevel gears 18, to a cross shaft 19 whichcarries a drive sprocket 20 disposed on the outside of the frame of thepie machine 2. A chain 21 connects the sprocket 20 with the pusher chaindrive sprocket 22, for a direct drive of that element, and the forwardroller 7 of the conveyor belt 6 is driven from the pusher chain by meansof the gears 23 and 24' which are respectively mounted on the adjacentends of the cross shafts 25 and 26.

As shown in Fig. 2 the sprockets '14, which carry the pusher chain 12 atits rearward end, are considerably smaller than the pusher chain drivesprockets 13.. The purpose of this arrangement is to cause the pusherfingers to make the rearward turn at as fast a rate as possible so thatthey may enter between the closely following pairs of pie plates withoutdanger of the finger tips engagingthe. upper flange surfaces of therearward plates. This permits the plates to follow each other closelywith the same spacing as the openings. in the plate holder 5 into whichthey are to drop. This also permits the horizontal run or pass of thepusher chain 12 to travel at the same speed as the plate holders and thedelivery belt or conveyor 6.

It will now be seen that pie plates deposited on the. conveyor belt 6are automatically delivered thereby ,onto the inclined trackways, formedby the guide bars 9,10 and 15, and are immediately picked up by thepusher, fingers 11, which propel the plates along the trackway and'oifthe discharge end thereof into the appropriate pocketsof a respectiveplate holder 5. The plates are supplied continuously by the conveyor 6and the spacing of'the pushers 11, along the rim of the pusher chain 12,is such that the plates are discharged from the end of the trackway inexactly timed relation with the arrival and forwardmotion of the plateholders which move beneath the trackway.

As shown the pie plate delivery mechanism is so constnicted that it maybe readily changed over to handle pie plates of other sizes than thesmall 4, inch plates. shown in Figs. '1 "and 2. This change, over isaccomplished by removing the center guide bar 15. and moving the bars 9and 10 laterally to fit beneath the flanges of the larg r size plate, asshown in Fig. 4.; and by changing the .pusher finger ,crossbars 16 fornew finger bars having a.

wider finger spacing.

Also the spacing of the new finger bars, shown at 27 in Fig. 4, alongthe pusher chains 12 is greater, as will be understood, since the largesize plate holder 28 will accommodateonly one pie plate at a time, asshown in Fig. 5.

It will be understood, of course, that the plate holders 5 and 28 areremovably mounted on the carrier chain 3, and are interchangeable, as iscustomary with the usual continuous pie making machines.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 it will be seen that the pie plate depositingmechanism shown is made in two sections. One for the small individualsize of pie plate, and the other for the usual 8 inch or 9 inch plate.The depositor for the smaller plates is arranged to drop four plates foreach plate holder on the pie making machine and comprises a series ofvertical columns 29 arranged to confine four separate vertical stacks ofnested plates 30. The columns 29 extend upwardly from a bed plate 31which is provided with suitable apertures, below the plate stacks,

through which the plates are dropped onto the conveyor belt 6; and eachstack of plates is supported on a pair of oppositely disposed platereleasing discs 32.

The pie plate releasing discs 32', which will be later described indetail, are preferably located below the bed plate 31 and each ismounted on a vertical shaft which is journaled in the bed plate andwhich carries a sprocket 33 on its upper end above the bed plate. Thereleasing discs operate by rotation, to separate the bottommost pieplate from the respective stack and then drop the plate onto theconveyor 6; and each pair of the discs 32 is arranged to operatesimultaneously so that the pie plate will be instantly released at bothsides in order that it can drop vertically, without any tilting ortipping, to land flatly on the conveyor 6 in proper alignment with therespective guide bars of the inclined trackway.

As shown, the four stacks of pie plates are arranged in two rows and itwill be understood that the sequence or order in which the plates arereleased from the several stacks will be such that the plates will bedelivered by the conveyor in transversely arranged pairs to accommodatethe arrangement of the openings in the plate holder 5. This requiresthat the operation of the releasing discs be exactly timed with eachother and with the movement of the belt 6, and such timing isaccomplished by driving the rotating discs from the same source of powerused to drive the belt 6 and the pusher chain 12.

Preferably all of the releasing .discs 32 are driven through theirrespective sprockets 33, by a common means,

such as the roller chain 34 which is arranged to pass over each sprocket33 in such a manner that all sprockets will turn in the same direction,suitable idlers being interposed between the several sprockets to assurea tight engagement of the chain with each sprocket. The chain 34 isdriven from a drive sprocket 35 mounted on a vertical shaft 36, suitablyjournaled, in brackets secured to the depositor frame, and the shaft 36is driven through bevel gears 37 by a horizontal shaft 38 which takesits power through bevel gears 39 from the shaft 19 which drives thepusher chain 12, as shown in Fig. l. a

The depositor mechanism for the large pic plates, shown at the righthand end of the machine in Figs. 1 and 2, is similar in most respects tothe means for handling the small plates. As shown, however, the stack ofplates is held between three verticalhcolumns 40, extending up wardlyfrom the bed plate 31 and spaced degrees angularly from each other. Alsothree rotating releasing discs 41 are employed, in order that the stackof plates will be evenly supported and so that each plate 42 will bereleased in a perfectly horizontal position and land flatly on theconveyor 6. V

The releasing discs 41 are driven through respective sprockets 43 inlthesame manner as the discs 32 and; by means of the same roller chain 34.Thus the discs 41 are driven in direct timed relation with theothercomponents of the machine and all of thereleasingdiscs '5 operate 'inunison for instantaneous, all around, release of each pie plate.

Details of the releasing disc construction are shown in Figs. 6 to 10inclusive, and three forms of the device are illustrated. As shown inFigs. 6, 7 and 8, the releasing disc is a composite structure comprisinga pair of flat annular plates or discs 44 and 45 of equal size, spacedapart by a spacer member 46, which is of lesser diameter than the outerdiscs and is of a thickness slightly greater than the thickness of theturned edge of a pie plate flange. Usually, the spacer member 46 isformed as an integral part of the bottom disc 45 and the bottom disc issecured to the upper disc 44 by means of suitable flathead screws orrivets which are countersunk into the disc surfaces so that there willbe no unnecessary projections from either the top or bottom side.

As shown in Fig. 6, the disc assembly is mounted on the end of a shaft47, which shaft is adapted to be journaled in a suitable bushing in thebed plate 31 of the depositing machine and to carry the driving sprocketon its upper end.

In the form shown in Fig. 6 the groove or channel between the upper andlower plates, provided by the spacer member 46, is of a depth justsuflicient to engage and receive the outer margin of a pie plate flange;and as shown in Fig. 7, the periphery of the upper disc 44 is cut awayas at 48 so that the flange of a pie plate may drop past the disc 44 andengage the margin of the lower disc 45. The notch thus formed in theupper disc 44 is cut radially into the disc, as at 48, and from thebottom of the notch the margin of the disc is formed to curve graduallyoutward along a spiral path as at 49, until, after passing through anangular distance of approximately 120 degrees, the margin of the disc 44becomes circular as at 53.

Thus, with a stack of nested pie plates being supported on the upperdisc 44, by engagement of the flange of the lowermost pie plate in thestack with the margin of the disc 44, the lowermost pie plate may dropthrough the notch 48, as the disc is rotated, so as to rest upon thebottom disc 45. Then because of the channel provided by the spacermember 46, the edge of the spirally curved periphery of the top disc 44will be entered between the bottommost pie plate and the next succeedingpie plate as the disc continues to rotate, so that the stack of pieplates will again be supported wholly by the margin of the upper disc44. As the releasing disc continues to rotate, the lowermost pie plateis finally released from the bottom disc member 45 through a notch 51formed in the periphery thereof at a point substantially 240 degreesbeyond the location of the notch 48. The notch 51 is formed by cuttingaway a segment of the margin of the disc 44 and the angular length ofthe cut away segment is made sufliciently great to assure the pie plateflange being completely released.

To facilitate complete and instantaneous release of the pie platemargin, the upper surface of the disc 45, where it approaches the notch51, is ground down as at 52 to assure that there will be no bindingbetween the upper and lower discs 44 and 45 at the release point. Also,as shown in Fig. 6, the upper disc 44 is provided with a camnu'ng lug 53which projects downwardly through the margin of the disc 45, to at leastthe lower surface thereof, and the end of the lug 53 nearest the releasepoint is provided with a downwardly curved cam surface 54 which isintended to serve as a means to direct the pie plate downwardly at theinstant it is released at the notch 51.

As will be understood, the several releasing discs for each pie platestack rotate continuously at exactly the same speed and the bottommostpie plate, in the stack of plates supported by the releasing discs, willdrop through the notch 48 in each upper disc member and onto the marginof the lower disc member, instantly and simultaneously, when therespective notches 48 become radially aligned with the axis of the platestack. Then as the releasing disc rotates, the edge 49, of each upperdisc member 44, which is preferably tapered or thinned, will be enteredbetween the lowermost pie plate and the next successive pie plate in theplate stack, whereby as the discs continue to turn, the bottom platebecomes separated and the stack of plates becomes wholly supported bythe upper disc members 44. The lowermost pie plate then rides on themargin of the bottom disc members 45 until the disc has turned to thepoint where the notches 51 become radially aligned with the axis of theplate stack, at which point the pie plate is released completely so asto drop straight down and land flatly on the conveyor belt passingbeneath the plate stack. Then as the releasing devices continue torotate, the next pie plate of the plate stack will be stripped orseparated from the stack by dropping, through the notches 48, onto themargin of the lower disc members 45, where the releasing operation willagain be repeated.

The frequency at which plates are released from the plate stack anddropped onto the conveyor traveling beneath the plate stack isdetermined entirely by the speed of rotation of the coacting releasingdevices upon which the stack of plates is supported and such speed ofrotation will, therefore, be coordinated with the speed of operation ofthe other components of the plate depositing and delivering mechanism.

It often happens that the edges of the pie plate flanges become bent,broken, or thickened in use, and in order to provide for thatcontingency, the releasing discs may be constructed with an axially,resiliently, yieldable upper or lower member to permit self-adjustmentof the thickness of the groove or channel between the disc parts andthus prevent binding or jamming of the pie plate margins in the saidchannel. Two forms of the device embodying this self-adjusting featureare shown in Figs. 9 and 10 respectively.

Referring to Fig. 9, it will be seen that the releasing disc assembly,which is mounted on the end of the releasing disc shaft 47 by means of acentral screw 55, comprises an upper disc member 56 which abuts thelower end of the shaft 47, and a flexible lower disc member 57 which isspaced from the upper disc 56 by means of a ring or collar 58. Theflexible disc member 57 is of dished form with its concave side facingtoward the upper disc member 56, and the width of the channel 59 betweenthe two disc members is determined by the spacer ring 58 with someslight adjustment being permitted by the tensioning of the mountingscrew 55. The peripheries of the releasing disc plate members 56 and 57are formed and arranged in the same manner as heretofore described forthe releasing disc shown in Figs. 6 to 8 inclusive.

With this form of the releasing disc any irregularities in the pie plateflange, which might require a greater than normal width of the channel59, will cause the margin of the flexible lower disc member 57 to yielddownwardly and thus permit passage of the irregular portion of the pieplate flange along the channel 59 without binding or jamming.

In the form of releasing disc shown in Fig. 10, the bottom plate 66 ofthe releasing disc assembly is attached rigidly to the lower end of theshaft 47 and the annular spacing member 61 is formed integrally on theupper face of the member 66. Also a central boss 62 is integrally formedon the upper side of the spacing member 61 at the bottom end of theshaft 47. This boss 62 is made with a peripheral form that is other thanannular and the upper releasing disc member 63 is provided with acentral opening shaped to slidably fit over this boss so that the upperdisc member may rest flatly against the top surface of the spacer 61 andat the same time be keyed against relative rotation.

As shown, the upper disc member part of the releasing disc assemblytension against the top surface of 61 by a plurality of headed studs 63is the yieldable and is held under the spacer member 64 which extend uprthey are secured. The

7 the margins of the lower disc members.

, releasing devices continue to rotate, the lowermost pie plateis'released simultaneously by all of the releasing.

.over' an' inverted pie plate.

wardly through suitable holes in'th e bottom disc member and the spacerand into the upper disc member 63 where headed ends of the studs 64project downwardly below the disc member 60 and coiled springs 65 aredisposed on the studs so as to bear between the stud heads and thebottom surface of the member 60.

' Preferably the fit or the upper or yieldable disc member 63 on theboss 62 is loose'enough to permit the upper disc member .63 to yield ina tilting manner, and the mounting and'tensioning studs 64 are spacedapart angularly far enough to permit such tilting action. Thus, whenanirregularity in the flange of a pie plate becomes engaged in thechannel 66, between the upper and lower disc elements the upper. disc 63will yield relative to the bottom disc 60 and permitthe irregularity inthe pie plate flange to pass through thechannel 66 without binding .orjamming the releasingdisc operation.

It will be understood, of course, that the form and arrangement of theperipheries of releasing disc members 60 and 63 shown .in .Fig. 10',will be the same as shown and described with respect to the releasingdisc illustrated in Figs, 6 to 8 inclusive; particularly with respect tothe shape and location of the notches in the disc elements.

In the operation of the improved pie plate depositor, the releasingdiscs are caused to rotate in the same direction, and the stack of pieplates which are to be deposited, one at a time, on the moving conveyorwhich travels beneath the'pie' plate stack, are supported entirely bythe respective releasing disc assemblies, the support of each pie platestack being had through engagement of the flange of the bottommost pieplate on the. margins of the respective releasing devices. Also, thereleasing devices are so adjusted relative to each other that thenotches 48, in the upper releasing disc member of the several releasingdevices, will become axially aligned with the axisof the pie plate stackat the same instant and thereby permit the lowermost pie plate to dropdownwardly through the notches 48 onto Then, as the devices throughtheir notches 51 so that the pie plate will drop in a horizontalposition directly downward and land flatly on the conveyor 6. Thereleasing devices are rotated in the same direction so that-any turningaction thatmight be imparted to the lowermost pie plate, just before itis droppedonto the conveyor, will be uniform around the entire peripheryof the pie plate. Thus the pie plate will not become in any waytilted atthe instant of its release.

Because the pie plate is dropped vertically and lands flatly on theconveyor, directly below the pie plate stack, and because the stack isaligned centrally with the path of the pie plate along the inclinedtrackway, each pie plate will enter the trackway on its centerline sothat it can be picked up by the respective pusher fingers fortransference down the trackway to the plate holder of the pie makingmachine.

' It is often desired to use the. pie making machine to shells areusually formed In such case the pie plates which are to. be supplied tothe pie making machine are placed in the depositor mechanism stacks inin v'erted position and are dropped in this manner onto the conveyorbelt 6. In order to keep the pie plates in alignment withjthe path ofthe plateholders of the pie making machine, itis necessary, however, tohave a somewhat different form 'for the guide members of the inclinedtrackway and such an arrangement ofthe guide memhers-is illustrated inFig; ll. As shown, the guide members 9.1[andl0l are provided withinwardly facingichannels 671cm. their upper? side which will receive theinba'ke piecrust shells, which verted pie plate flange and. hold" the.pieplate against any lateral displacement that mightca'use it to be out.

' being resiliently yieldable relative to the other in the axial ,ofalignment with the plate holder on the pie making,

machine. Otherwise, the construction and operation of the pie platedepositing mechanism is exactly the same as heretoforedescribed. V

Details of the plate holders of the pie making machine, into which thepie plates are delivered, arenot shown or described since these plateholders andrthe arrangements for mounting them on the conveyor mechanismof the pie plate machine are well known in the art. Also, it iscustomaryand well known to provide interchangeable plate holders whichcan be quickly and easily removed from the pie making machine conveyormechanism for changing the plate holders to suit the size of the pieplates that are to be used.

The main advantages of this invention reside in the" tion onto adelivery mechanism which. will deposit the plates automatically on theplate holders of a pie making machine'without in anyway aflecting' thetiming or' the operation of the pie making machine; and in thearrangement wherein the operation of the pie plate depositing mechanismis so related with the operation of the pie making machine, that noattention whatsoever is required on the part of the operator other thanto see that the pie plate stacks in the depositor mechanism are filled.

Heretofore, because of the diificulty of mechanically supplying pieplates to moving pie plate holder's, it has been necessary to place thepie plates in the plate holder manually. Thus, through the use of theimproved depositing mechanism, the services oi at least one operator areeliminated with a resultant saving in production costs; Also, with theimproved pie plate depositing mechanism, it is possible to operatethe'pie making machine at a 'faster speed and continuously since'thevariable human factor of manual placement of the pie plates in the plateholders is eliminated.

Although but one specific embodiment of this invention is hereinshown'and described, it will be understood" device comprising a pair ofmembers located at the lower.

end of the stack of plates and movable alternately into and out ofengagement beneath respective flanges of the lower-' most pair of platesin said stack, one of said members direction of said stack, and meansfor operating said releasing. devices in unison and at a predeterminedspeed with respect to said conveyor.

2. A device of the class described comprising means for holding avertical. stackfof nestedperipherally flanged plates, and a pair ofrelease devices extending beneath the flange of the lowermost plate inthe stack for supporting the stack of plates and releasing platesindividuallyfromthe bottom of the-stack to drop by gravity, each of.said release devices comprising'a pair of axially spaced members mountedfor rotation on a common vertical axis and having radially extendingportions for alternately passing into and out of engagement beneath therespective flanges of the, lowermost pair of plates in said stack duringrotation, said members being angularly oifset relative to each other toengage and disengage the respective plates successively,

one of said members being axially yieldable resiliently relative to theother, and means for rotating said release devices in unison and intimed relation with each other.

3. A releasing device for vertically stacked objects each of which has aperipheral radial rim, comprising a rotatable shaft having a pair ofdiscs mounted thereon and axially spaced apart substantially the rimthickness of said objects to provide a peripheral channel between thediscs, said discs being positioned to marginally engage beneath the rimsof the lowermost two of said objects, said discs each having anangularly extending portion of its margin cut away to provide an openingto pass the rim of one of said objects axially, the openings of saiddiscs being angularly spaced from each other to pass said objectssuccessively one at a time, and one of said discs being axiallyyieldable away from the other to vary the axial width of the channeltherebetween.

4. A releasing device for vertically stacked objects each of which has aperipheral radial rim, comprising a rotatable shaft having a pair ofdiscs mounted thereon and axially spaced apart substantially the rimthickness cf said objects to provide a peripheral channel between thediscs, said discs being positioned to marginally engage beneath the rimsof the lowermost two of said objects, said discs each having a portionof its margin cut away to provide an opening suficient to pass the rimof one of said objects axially, the opening of one disc being angularlyoff-set relative to the opening in the other disc for passing saidobjects successively one at a time, and one of said discs beingresiliently yieldable axially away from the other to vary the axialwidth of said channel.

5. A releasing device for vertically stacked objects each of which has aperipheral radial rim, comprising a rotatable shaft having a pair ofdiscs mounted thereon and axially spaced apart substantially the rimthickness of said objects to provide a peripheral channel between thediscs, said discs being positioned to marginally engage beneath the rimsof the lowermost pair of said objects, said discs each having a portionof its margin cut away to provide an opening sufiicient to pass the rimof one of said objects axially, the opening of one disc being angularlyoifset relative to the opening in the other disc for passing saidobjects successively one at a time, and one of said discs being ofresilient material and marginally yieldable axially away from the otherdisc.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,128,435 Foote Feb. 16, 1915 1,272,764 Blankenhorn et a1. July 16, 19181,610,862 Kronquest Dec. 14, 1926 2,332,531 Robinson et a1 Oct. 26, 1943

